Well, well, well. Tonight was the much ballyhooed premiere of 'Survivor: Panama - Exile Island.' Now, don't get me wrong. I'm a true 'Survivor' fan and I usually have personal issues about the premiere shows only being one hour long. To me, it's not enough time to get to "know" the cast at all. I expected a lot from this premiere and I'm not sure they really delivered. That's not to say it can't be redeemed in future weeks. As I get my 'Survivor' legs going, I'm sure to be entertained.
So, where do I think they went wrong this week? I think part of it was so much time in the beginning of the show on Exile Island itself. Jeff gave a clue, supposedly, about where the Exile Idol may be hidden, but I sure couldn't make sense of it. I like the idea of the Idol being able to be used after the voting and that it can be used at any time up until the Final Four (once there's three left, the Idol dies) -- that's going to keep them on their toes! I like the idea of Exile Island and the "bonus" Idol itself. I just think that the time spent at the beginning of the show was a bit much.
As we knew ahead of time, the castaways were split into four tribes -- Older Men, Younger Men, Older Women, Younger Women. I don't even think I'm going to bother memorizing the trible names because I'd end up writing stuff like La Mina (Older Men). So, forget the tribe names; I'd end up describing them anyway.
After the explanation of Exile Island, the hidden Idol, (blah, blah, blah), things started right in with the Rewards Challenge. Three tribes would win Reward (fire) while the losing tribe had to pick someone to stay the night at Exile Island. Each tribe picked one person to go smashing skulls (not to be confused with Smashing Pumpkins) seeking amulets hidden inside. Once they had three amulets, they returned. Danielle, who is actually quite the athlete, lost it for the Younger Women. What I like about her is that she volunteered to stay there, but the tribe decided to go for rock, paper, scissors for the decision. Whoops, poor Misty. She showed a bit of a sneaky side. She poked around a bit for the Idol, then decided she would act like she found it to keep her tribemates wondering.
Back to the tribes and my initial thoughts about them:
Older Men: This is the tribe to watch. With the exception of Shane, great workers. I thought Dan and Terry would gravitate towards each other and they did. Bruce is unbelievable! I love him! He had lots of fun with his machete. They had a healthy fire and a fine camp set up on short order. Dan/Terry made a pact to never lie to each other. Shane is a jerk. He whined about smoking, fussed about bugs, whined more about no cigarettes, called Bruce "Daffy Duck" and was very annoying. Make him go away.
Older Women: All right, they voted out their workhorse (Tina) who lives and breathes the outdoors. They kept Cirie who's afraid of leaves (there may be bugs in them). Ruth Marie and Melinda were okay. I think Cirie is probably a lot of fun in an indoor environment. But, what were they thinking? I totally understand Cirie's vote against Tina (which was a vice versa kinda thing), but the other two? I don't think they went into Tribal Council thinking they'd vote Tina out -- I think some of what she said there alienated them. I loved Tina's luck in finding the big flopping fish stranded by the tide. What a great meal! Without Tina, I think they're going to have problems.
Younger Men: Hunky for the most part, but... but... I don't really know them, do you? Nick is coming across as a bit dense. Austin is more of a flirt than I thought he would be. Aras was a bit odd with the yoga/fire thing, but I like him. Bobby is doing himself in with the rest, I think. He's right; they are screwing up. But if they end up at Tribal Council, they're going to vote off the one who kept apart and wasn't in with the tribe. Watch out, Bobby!
Younger Women: What the heck is with the cowboy hat, Danielle? Other than Danielle, the younger women seemed way clueless. Instead of quickly finding a place for their shelter, they wandered all around like they were lost in the suburbs. I admire Misty some -- heck, she ate an earthworm on Exile Island. They stepped up the pace for the Immunity Challenge and came in first, but their sense of the outdoors is severely lacking.
What? You want to know what I thought of the Immunity Challenge? 
As the kids would say, it was a'ight. To me, it wasn't thrilling. I would be horrible at it with my bad knee. It was physical (running, swimming, rowing) with a brainteaser at the end. I just wasn't all that excited. I liked how the Younger Men screwed up and were so far behind. They should have lost. The Older Women royally screwed up (instead of merely screwing up) and blew their lead.
Tribal Council was a bit on the so-so side. Cirie seemed pleased all went according to her plan and she saved her butt.
Oh. I think the Immunity Idol is UGLY!
What did you think of tonight's premiere? Was it all you expected? Any early favorites? Does anyone out there like Shane?
